1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a droplet jetting applicator and a method of manufacturing a coated body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, a droplet jetting applicator that jets droplets is used to manufacture various display devices including a liquid crystal display device, an organic electroluminescence (EL) display device, an electron emission display device, a plasma display device and an electrophoretic display device.
This droplet jetting applicator includes a droplet jet head (such as an ink jet head) configured to jet tiny droplets respectively out of multiple nozzles. By causing droplets to land on an object to be coated by using this droplet jet head, dot sequences are formed in a predetermined pattern. Note that the droplet jet head has a nozzle surface provided with the nozzles. The outer surface of a nozzle plate serves as this nozzle surface.
In a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, for example, the droplet jetting applicator is used to sequentially apply R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color inks in dots onto a transparent substrate as a an object to be coated. Thereby, a color filter which is a coated body including different-color arrays of the dots thereon is manufactured. In addition, the droplet jetting applicator is also used to manufacture a frame of the color filter, i.e. a black matrix, and the like.
In the course of this manufacturing process, inks and foreign materials such as dust and dirt may be deposited around the nozzles on the nozzle surface. Formation of such deposits may cause a jetting failure such as displacement of landing positions of droplets or imperfect ink jets. In view of these problems, there has been disclosed a droplet jetting applicator configured to wipe a nozzle surface by pressing a cleaning roller onto the nozzle surface in order to remove deposits of inks and foreign materials such as dust and dirt from the nozzle surface. Meanwhile, there have also been disclosed other droplet jetting applicators such as one configured to dip a nozzle surface in a cleaning liquid, and then to wipe the nozzle surface by pressing a cleaning blade onto the nozzle surface.
However, the nozzle surface might also be damaged by these cleaning processes. Accordingly, as in the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-244960, there has also been proposed a droplet jetting applicator configured to achieve a maximum cleaning effect while preventing damages on a nozzle surface.